The new chips bring high performance and integrated security with enterprise-class error-correction code memory support, dual- and quad-core variants, and a discrete-class GPU and I/O controller on the same die.

The survey of more than 200 IT decision makers also found that 95 percent of the businesses that don’t currently provide Macs would be more likely to offer employees Macs if they had a single central management system for both Windows PCs and Macs.

Combining the power of the CPU and GPU offers GPGPU solutions, but these are cumbersome for developers, since the CPU and GPU use different memory pools. AMD plans to eliminate this burden by using another acronym: hUMA.

Dell has done a lot more than simply upgrade the PowerEdge T320 to the new Xeon E5-2400 processor. Memory and storage also get a huge boost, and there's optional iDRAC 7 management and an embedded hypervisor option, making this a real SME power platform.

The EliteBook 8560w is a well-built 15.6in. mobile workstation that can be configured with top-notch components, making it ideal for CPU-, GPU- and memory-intensive workloads. It's not especially portable, though, and battery life is among its least impressive features.

Companies should focus on optimizing specific components such as memory and storage for greater power and costs savings, urge industry experts, although one adds not all companies have the scale to reap these benefits.

If you don't work with PCs for a living, it's easy to puzzle over file management tools and mock the people who use them. But an obscure and useful command in Windows Explorer illustrates the incredible disconnect between Silicon Valley bloggers and people who work for a living.